China's yuan crosses 6.76 level, weakest for 6 years

[SHANGHAI] China's yuan dipped to a fresh six-year low against the US dollar on Friday, crossing the 6.76 level before paring losses as strong US dollar purchases by companies continued to pile pressure on the Chinese currency, traders said.

With the US dollar climbing to seven-month highs against a basket of currencies, spot yuan hit a low of 6.7606 per US dollar level on Friday afternoon, touching the weakest level since Sept 2010.

The US dollar index rose to 98.559 by 0830 GMT from the previous close of 98.315, its loftiest since March, and has gained 0.6 per cent for the week. It has gained about 4 per cent since early September.

The yuan settled at 6.7599 per US dollar at 4:30pm (0830 GMT). It lost 0.2 per cent against the US dollar for the day and 0.5 per cent for the week.

China takes the official market closing price at 4:30pm (0830 GMT) into consideration when it fixes the official guidance rate, in an effort to let market forces play a bigger role in determining the yuan's value. The market also has a special evening session lasting until 11:30pm.

REUTERS

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